Students and Animals Need Your Help in Maryland

Annually, 10 million animals are killed for classroom dissection in the United States. But lawmakers in the state of Maryland, led by Sen. Ronald N. Young, have introduced a bill that would give all students—in both public and private schools—the right to opt out of cruel animal dissection and experimentation exercises in favor of humane, non-animal teaching methods, such as virtual dissection. This compassionate and lifesaving bill, Senate Bill (S.B.) 369, is being considered now—and your voice is needed to help ensure its victory!

Twenty-three states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia, have already enacted dissection-choice policies or laws similar to S.B. 369 so that students can choose humane science activities instead of being forced to dissect animals, and the National Science Teachers Association supports students’ right to opt out of dissection.

Digital dissection programs also offer a wealth of benefits: They save schools significant time and money because they’re low-cost or even free and can be reused, and studies show that students prefer using these tools—their grades also improve, and they learn faster than students who dissect animals. Furthermore, a growing majority of young people are opposed to animal experimentation and therefore become upset, distracted, and unable to learn the requisite material when forced to dissect animals.

Please lend your voice to help save animals and empower students in Maryland!

Here’s what to do: Submit a brief, polite written statement in support of S.B. 369directly to both Sen. Joan Conway (chair of the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee) at [email protected] and Sen. Young at [email protected]. Testimony may include reasons why you support the bill, including personal experiences with animal dissection or any expertise that you may have in science education (e.g., if you are a teacher or parent or work in a science- or education-related field). Please take action quickly so that your voice will be heard!

You can help make S.B. 369 a reality. We’re getting closer to preventing thousands of animals from being killed for the classroom each year by giving Maryland students the choice to opt out of dissection, so right now is the time to show your support.

Please share this alert with other educators, parents, and Maryland residents! Thanks for speaking up for animals.